June 04, 2007
London '12 Logo Unveiled
From the BBC we have this item: “London unveils logo of 2012 Games”. You can vote on it if you care to. Me, I think it looks like a cubist figure after a particularly gruesome road accident. As usual, one wonders how many of the public’s hard earned pounds were spent on this. [Ah, the article says… £400,000.]
Update 6/6:Not only is the logo over-priced, annoying, and representative of nothing whatsoever, in its animated form it can apparently even induce seizures.
Filed under: Life in London, Sport, Olympics, 2012 Olympics and Graphic Design.
Posted by eric at 05:00 PM | Comments (1)
May 22, 2007
Multi-culturism in Practice
Overheard on the bus this evening: “It’s these flipping illegal immigrants take’n all the jobs!” There were a couple of things about the context that placed this statement in the category of unintentional irony. First, most of the people in the UK today at which these sorts of ignorant remarks are most often directed are, in fact, legal immigrants. Second, the person making the statement was herself clearly the daughter of West Indian, um, immigrants. How soon we forget.
Filed under Life in London, Immigration, General Ignorance.
Posted by eric at 11:34 PM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2007
One Man Can Make a Difference
Never let it be said that one man can’t make a difference. The District Line between Embankment and Blackfriars this morning was beyond packed. The carriage was so full I was honestly beginning to worry about some of its less robust passengers’ ability to make the next stop. At Temple, a single individual stepped off. The subtraction of just this one person made all the difference. Suddenly there was room to breath, turn one’s head, stand with one’s center of gravity over one’s feet.
Amazing the simple pleasures available to the long suffering commuter; even if they are really more the absence of irritation.
Posted in Life in London, Commuting, The Tube.
Posted by eric at 08:32 PM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2007
England Sortta Show Up
279? Oh, common! I know that they were playing wihtout Flintoff and that fully half of the side were probably hung-over and that team morrale is probably in the dumper after this weekend’s shenanigans, but 279? I mean honestly. Is Australia really the only side at the World Cup taking it seriously.
Filed under Life in London, Sport and Cricket.
Posted by eric at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2007
A Most Excellent Match
Unlike the best part of Pakistan vs. West Indies match, I managed to hear the entire second half of this one. Great fun. It always amazes me when a cricket match can tie after 100 innings of play. There were so many almost unique events during this event it’s not worth listing them. The finish was all a listner could hope for. Tied at the last ball, the ball is bowled and a non-striker is run-out. Tie. Amazing.
Filed under Life in London, Sport and Cricket.
Posted by eric at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2007
Nothing Unexpeced I Suppose
The BBC’s summary of Australia vs. Scotland can be found here. It’s about what one would have expected anyway. Same goes for the Canada vs. Kenya match though I was hoping that Canada could make more of a go of it than they did. I wasn’t able to follow either match very closely. Too many things to do away from my desk this afternoon. Just as well; didn’t miss much.
Filed under Life in London, Sport and Cricket.
Posted by eric at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2007
An Important Win for West Indies
I was listening to this match on the BBC last night. (BBC’s summary: Smith shines as West Indies win.) Pakistan were chasing West Indies 241 and the thing looked just doable when I got up to get the squirt ready for bed and read him a few chapters of his present book. When I came back to the match — couldn’t have been more than an hour or so — and Pakistan had shed six wickets. I was just in time to hear the bitter end as Pakistan went all out with 54 runs short.
This is a great result. I’d hate to see the home side crash out too early. It can really vacuumn the energy out of the games if the locals are out.
Filed under Life in London, Sport and Cricket.
Posted by eric at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2007
Not Fit for Man or Beast
One for the books in pure metrological foulness; lashing rain, driving horizontally down the Thames. While waiting for the bus on Waterloo bridge, I saw one poor woman’s umbrella pop inside out. After wrestling with it for a bit, she shrugged and braved the bridge with its now far from adequate protection. Abandon in the middle of the span was yet another stricken brolly. This is the kind of day that spells winter in London.
Filed under Life in London and London Weather.
Posted by eric at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2007
A Day of Sloth
Not the best day to be out and about today. Looks like we’re in for another stretch of fairly, if not extremely, foul weather. Aside from a foray out to three toy shops to pick up a few art supplies for the offspring, we haven’t ventured out. The haul includes some finger paints. Now all I have to do is work out a way that they can be applied without mess and mayhem; perhaps we can set his easel up in the bathtub.
Being a good day to enjoy the great indoors we watched rather more of the box today than we properly should have. I ran across a note about an exhibit at the Horniman Museum that features models of ice age creatures. The little one was most taken by the Doedicurus. To help inspire interest, I put on “Ice Age” which he’d never managed to see all of. We still skipped the spoliation of the village but he quite enjoyed the rest and now has a hankering to see all of the ice age critters at the museum.
Later in the evening we talked him into watching “Toy Story 2” with us. He was alarmed at times when the characters were in any degree of peril but again found that he was happy to have stayed with it and watched to the end.
Hopefully next weekend the weather will improve and we’ll be less sloth like.
Filed under Life in London, London Weather, Horniman Museum and Ice Age.
Posted by eric at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2007
Two Snows in One Winter!
Last winter we had just one minor dusting of snow, about a week before Christmas. This morning we awoke to snow, as predicted no less. We have about the same as last time, some inch and a half and its still coming down.
The question now is to go into work or not to go into work. South West Trains claim only minor delays at present. Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City airports all have closed their runways. The BBC weather people are wailing about “very severe” weather and, I kid you not, “blizzard conditions”. They’re advising people to travel only if urgently necessary but then they always do that.
At the moment I’m planning on braving the trains but while I’m confident that I can get in, if the snow continues much longer, I may not be able to get back out. Not all that keen to be stuck in down town London this evening.
Filed under Life in London, Weather and Snow.
Posted by eric at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2007
Here We Bloody Go Again
The nit-wits are at it again. The BBC’s latest coverage is here: Warning after new mail bomb blast. Always risky to speculate but it looks like somebody’s ire over traffic regulations has got the better of what passed for their intelligence and they’ve decided that its OK to blow up people in the service of making a point. Where do these people come from? Do they actually think for a moment that doing something like this is going to make their point or change things to go their way? Nuf said. Too much in fact.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2007
Escape from the Office
In amongst re-configuring some of our cast off gear for the new India office, testing video teleconference equipment on both sides of the Atlantic, shepherding A/V sub-contractors — still trying to wrap up the odyssey of the board room installation — and trying to keep our aging fleet of laptops limping along, I managed to escape for a bit this afternoon. My mission was to top off the bourbon supply for the weekend.
I’ve all but given up finding Virginia Gentleman in London. I’ve tried a couple of alternatives available at Milroy’s in Soho. Elijah Craig is a fine whiskey neat, very complex, deep flavour. But, when mixed, it just goes flat. I’ve had much better results with Buffalo Trace. While not quite the same as the old home town hooch, it makes a perfectly fine Manhattan.
It is perhaps a bit sad that the excitement for the day is a brief shopping trip to a liquor store but such is life lately.
Filed under Life in London, Alcohol, Whiskey, Bourbon, Virginia Gentleman, Elijah Craig and Buffalo Trace.
Posted by eric at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2007
Pinter at Richmond Theater
It’s been a while since I’ve made an opportunity to get out to a show. Last night I took in Harold Pinter’s “The Caretaker” at Richmond Theater. Quite enjoyable. Yes it does kinda trail off at the end an no the characters dont’t ever actually get around to doing anything but it’s still oddly compelling; one is left to use one’s own imagination to determine the characters’ motivations and whether or not they will ever be translated into action.
The cast were all good, David Bradley was particularly good as Jenkins/Davies but that’s not to take anything away from Nigel Harman and Con O’Neill as the brothers. I was really struck by the set and lighting. Top marks for the people involved.
Did a bit of research after I got back to the flat; it looks as if Donald Pleasance must’ve originated the role of Davies at the Duchess Theater back in 1961. I think his characterization might’ve carried a bit more menace than did David Bradley’s. I wonder if any of his performances were filmed. Love to see it if they were.
Filed under Life in London, Theater, Richmond Theater and Harold Pinter.
Posted by eric at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)
January 31, 2007
A Bit of History Near the Office
After visiting HMS Belfast this weekend with my son, I picked up a small book entitled “Walking the London Blitz” by Clive Harris. A quick flick through showed that it discusses the story of the Blitz as it affected many locations around where I work in downtown London. In the second walk, he tells a bit about a V1 fall in 1944 right outside Bush House. From the photos, it appears that this buzz bomb landed on Aldwych very near where Houghton Street intersects. This is just by our old office.
On the BBC web site, I ran across this first person account of the event: The Aldwych Buzzbomb (V1) 1944. With some forty-eight killed outright, this must have been one of the most devastating V1 hits. Very sobering to thing about as one crosses Kingsway on the way to lunch.
Filed under Life in London, WWII, and The Blitz.
Posted by eric at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2007
Filed Under Frightening
From the BBC we have this little gem: Woman gets 75,000 bank statements. Apparently she made a seemingly simple request of her bank, could I have a copy of my statement please? A common request, easily dealt with one might think. Not. In the event she received not her statment but a whole whack of other customers’ statements complete with address, account number and sort code details. Makes one feel so confident in the reliability of one’s financial institutions.
Filed under Life in London and Banking.
Posted by eric at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2007
A Little Naval Adventure
Yet another day of no rain, drizzle or fog… wonderful. It is a bit on the cold side though without the 90 MPH winds from earlier this month.
The offspring and I toddled off once again to the HMS Belfast, a WWII era cruiser parked in the Thames just across from The Tower of London. We’d already been through this vessel back in July but the little guy specifically requested a return visit and it seemed like a good plan for the day.
They’ve changed the route through the ship. It feels like it’s a more efficient way along all the sites but they’re in the middle of replacing signage and updating video commentary to account for the new route; can be a bit confusing.
A new audio guide has been added featuring the voice of the increasingly ubiquitous, coming up hand of fist on Michael Palin, Tony Robinson. Some good material on it but I wasn’t able to hear nearly all of it as junior’s attention span was not all it could be today.
One interesting thing we ran across that I’d missed last visit is the example of a Kriegsmarine 4 rotor Enigma machine, pictured. It’s in quite good condition but I’m not sure that they have the whole stable of rotors with it.
Filed under Life in London, WWII, Royal Navy, Imperial War Museum, and HMS Belfast.
Posted by eric at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2007
Another Stop by the Science Musuem
Still trying to make up for the weeks of hunkering down in the flat through the cold, drizzle, howling winds and other general unpleasantnesses of the past few weeks’ weather. Today’s outing was to the Science Museum, a perennial favorite with the offspring.
Of late he’s been much interested in his “See Inside Science” book which includes a few notes on Charles Babbage’s calculating machines so we made sure we dropped in at the mathematics exhibit hall to look at the modern constructions based on his designs. They’re presently working on a second mark two difference engine. Not sure why as it looks like it will be identical to the one they’ve already got. Perhaps it’s to be installed at another museum.
After that it was down to the first floor and the materials exhibits where much ricocheting around was done before we packed up and headed for home.
Pretty sad picture of the Science Museum atrium, and it was taken with DIS on.
Filed under Life in London, Science Museum, Charles Babbage, and Difference Engine.
Posted by eric at 09:42 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2007
Wage Subversive Action
Whenever things get to be too busy, I find that I don’t have the time to lay in a stock of coffee for use in preparing with the morning meal at home. The result is that I end up dropping by the very local Starbucks, it’s but a few steps outside our office, several times a day and the tab really starts to add up. (Actually, I’m quite thankful that Starbucks don’t let one run an actual tab, the result would be ruin.)
It occurred to me this week that Starbucks might want to look into a new line of business. They should go into banking. I could just have my paycheck direct deposited with them, suck down my monthly ration of coffee and cappuccino and they could send me a statement telling me what little is left to fund the rest of my life’s activities.
Filed under Life in London and Starbucks.
Posted by eric at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2007
Pet Annoyance
While I’m enjoying living in London quite a bit, there are one or two little things that do get right up my nose. I’ve put a name to one of my pains and it is those stupid little tent signs that every coffee and sandwich shop, pub and bar feels compelled to park out in the middle of the pavement in front of their premises. The sidewalks of London are crowded enough without the constant choke points and trip hazards created by these pestilent placards.
Not sure what’s to be done. Maybe I should get myself tangled up in one and try suing the owner. On the other hand, it’s most likely not worth the bother; it’s probably been tried.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2007
A Slow News Day
I stopped by the Richmond Theater box office to pick up tickets to “The Unexpected Guest”, an Agatha Christie play coming up in a few weeks. I particularly enjoy buying tickets this way as opposed to doing it over the ‘phone or the internet. It’s not just saving a couple of pounds. It’s just more relaxed. It’s not a very hurried experience. You get a chance to talk to people and, perhaps more important, you actually get out of your chair and the office for a little while.
Filed under Life in London and Richmond Theater.
Posted by eric at 07:23 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2007
Off to Happy Feet
Took the offspring to see Happy Feet at the BFI IMAX theatre this afternoon. He’s now 4.5 years hold and I should think quite old enough to behave himself properly in a public theatre. He did not disappoint, neither did the film. It’s definitely a bit slow in spots, long, and has trouble winding up at the end and all of these deficiencies no doubt detract from the experience of most members of its target audience, a particularly attention span challenged demographic if ever there was one. Furhter, the dancing penguins are hardly the Nicholas brothers.
However, all of these faults are more than made up for in the exciting bits. The apple of our eye was positively aglow during the air show like antics of the penguins’ first fishing expedition. The renderings for the fierce snow storms and the derelict human artefacts were quite impressive. I was a bit worried at how he’d take the activities of the predators — he was barely able to tollerate Sid from Toy Story — but he managed to take them all in stride with the rest of the story. All in all, a well spend bundle of pounds.
Filed under Life in London, Film, BFI, IMAX and Happy Feet.
Posted by eric at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2007
Back to the Wet and Windy
Yesterday afternoon’s ray of hope was false I fear. This morning came with gale winds and horizontal rain; conditions bad enough for Southwest Trains to warn that the weather had forced speed restrictions on parts of their route. My titanium framed umbrella nearly came to grief on the way to the station. Folks with larger brollies gave up the wrestling match, furled their protection and took the storm face first. The only consolation is that back home in the states they’re slogging through wet snow and ice. Misery loves company.
Filed under Life in London and London Weather.
Posted by eric at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2007
A Sliver of Sunshine
An amazing afternoon here in London. Blue sky was seen above the damp buildings and sodden pavements. Clouds could be seen with distinct edges. Something we vaguely remember to be sunshine streaked across the Thames throwing light on the cityscape. I’ll take this as a laurel leaf showing the turn of winter’s tide.
Filed under Life in London and London Weather.
Posted by eric at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2007
Frustrations of a Sky Watcher
A friend in the states recently wrote to make sure that I knew about comet McNaught 2006. A comet eh? I’ve heard of those. They’re supposed to show up along with the rumored stars, planets, moon and sun in that mythical realm beyond the gray curtain of fog and cloud that forever bounds the world hereabouts. “This brave o’rhanging firmament. This majestical roof fretted with golden fire.” I don’t know where and when Shakespeare penned this stanza but if for sure wasn’t in London in January. Of course, he did go on to write that it seemed to him “no other thing than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors” so maybe he was after all.
Filed under Life in London, Sky Watching and London Weather.
Posted by eric at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2006
Weirder by the Minute
From the BBC we have this: Hair was 'invited' to make offer. Now entirely lost is any question or discussion over the original issue over whether or not the Pakistani side tampered with the ball. Never have I seen a sports controversy spin so entirely out of control. Completely out of the picture now is any discussion of ball tampering, or 20,000 fans left in the dark for most of Sunday afternoon. It’s now all about the ICC and Hair. I think the oddest thing yet is the Pakistani claim that because Hair offered a buy out to the ICC, it means that they didn’t tamper with the ball. Eh? What’s that? Sound like entirely orthogonal issues to me. Just ‘cause the ump surrendered the moral high ground with an ill conceived e-mail message doesn’t mean the ball wasn’t tampered with.
Filed under Life in London, Sports and Cricket.
Posted by eric at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2006
Rain and Shine at Kew Gardens
Took the offspring out to Kew Gardens again yesterday. We just moved to a house about 100 yards from the Lion Gate so visiting Kew Gardens is no great expedition. Our real destination was the Climbers and Creepers playground which remains one his favorite spots. On the way we managed to take a quite circuitous route and examine several specimen trees. Looked over quite a sizeable red oak — must have been planted a couple hundred years ago — and several English oaks as well as no small number of “Limes” none of which seemed remotely related to citrus trees of any variety.
The rain came pelting down just as we got to the play ground, fortunately for the most part enclosed. We really had quite a good storm. Other recent rains not withstanding, it’s still desperately needed. The gardens, and The Green, are looking a bit better lately but we’re still way behind the curve on rain this year.
On the way out, there was some nice afternoon light, though it could have been lower angle, and some nice post storm clouds around the pagoda. It’s difficult to frame both the pagoda and the elegantly sculpted lawns and beds that lead the eye to it. This is the best I was able to get.
Filed under Life in London and Kew Gardens
Posted by eric at 07:28 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2006
Coming from Gordon Ramsey, it Works
Coming from a half dressed, half drunk, fully loathsome yob yelling into his mobile in the middle of a standing room only railway carriage vestibule it doesn’t. On the way home this evening, rather on the late side of a Friday evening it must be admitted, I and the whole carriage were treated to one side of a domestic argument about which we really would all have preferred to have been left in ignorance.
A shirtless, well oiled lout was “explaining” to his other, and no doubt better, half that he would be out drinking and if she “didn’t f---ing like it she could f---ing leave the f---ing baby with her mum and f---ing come down to the pub.” Gee can a girl turn down an invitation like that? It got better. “I’m not f---ing being rude! It’s you’re f---ing annoying me in’t it!?”
It went on in a tone that would probably make even Gordon blush for about fifteen delightful minutes. Where’s the guard when he’d be some use? Wonder if this is the sort of “antisocial” behavior for which one can be issued an ASBO. Still, I suppose I should count my blessings. At least there was a train to ride tonight. It looked for a while like the signalmen would be out on strike but it, very fortunately, didn’t work out that way.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2006
The Rooftops of London
“…coor! What a sight!” However I wasn’t, like Burt, viewing a line of chimneys in hazy autumn twilight but the skyline of The City near noon on a blistering summer’s day. The home-away-from-home may soon be moving a few blocks east from Westminster into The City and I went over to our potential new building this morning to tag along with our potential project managers who were doing an initial site survey. Part of this involved inspecting the roof space where any auxiliary cooling equipment might be installed.
The view from above the eighth floor right along Fleet Street was quite impressive. No doubt the real estate just below is going for significantly more pounds per square foot than what we’re likely to pay for space on the first (second for Americans) floor. Sadly, though I’d intended to bring it along to record items of interest during the survey, I forgot my real camera and had to make do with the one in my ‘phone. These sad little snaps are all I was able to get.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:25 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2006
Charles Babage's Computing Equipment
We took the offspring to the Science Museum in London yesterday. After exhausting the “Making the Modern World” exhibit — this takes some time as it contains Puffing Billy, Stevenson’s Rocket as well as numerous steam engine models all of which exert an almost irresistible attraction on a four year old boy — we made our way through the “Who am I?” section and eventually into the computing area. This was naturally of more interest to me than to the toddler. However, we were able to sustain sufficient interest to get a fair look around the exhibits.
Not surprisingly, one of the English heroes of the information age is Charles Babage. So it is only to be expected that they have his difference engines as well as later reconstructions of some of his more ambitions designs. In fact, they have pretty much all of Babage’s computing hardware… including, I kid you not, his brain which is displayed in a glass jar under his portrait for the edification of the general public.
Filed under Life in London, Science Museum and Charles Babage.
Posted by eric at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2006
Ten10 Anybody?
I’ve been seeing a lot of Twenty20 lately but last evening I was exposed to an even shorter form of cricket. A group from the office squelched its way south to The Oval and sat in the, fortunately covered, stands as the rain — which the BBC claimed wouldn’t be a problem until about 01:00 — this morning came tipping down. It was half past six before the grounds men even started to uncover the pitch. The more experienced observers anticipated cancellation by that point but I suppose that the prospect of trying to reschedule the international side was too horrible to contemplate. So, the match was truncated to a mere ten overs a side.
Even so, it worked out to be quite a show. Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar started by poking the ball about in a rather tentative manner for the first over or so. A few comments were passed on just how many weeks might remain in Lara’s career. Then they just exploded, smashing balls for four and six with ease. Lara made some particularly elegant cover shots.
For all that work, it came down to the last ball of Pakistans’ innings. Only two runs were needed to win. An atrocious wide was thrown tying the score. The extra ball was then severely punished and Pakistan came out on top. The crowd, including no few spectators from the subcontinent, roared.
Filed under Life in London, Sport, Cricket, Twenty20, The Oval.
Posted by eric at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2006
What Th'!? (Looking Over My Tax Return)
“The return… and should be carefully reviewed to ensure that it is in order…” Holy fright! What is all this stuff!? Time was — yeah, twenty years ago — when I’d completed my tax return with my own little hands and feeble brain, I knew that it was right. There was no doubt, and this wasn’t just that brief halcyon period when I was allowed to fill out the 1040EZ back in the day. No, even after we’d bought our first house I could grok the tax return in its entirety and be certain that I had it right.
Those days are long gone. It’s been many years since I’ve completed one of these appalling documents without being directed to some obscure table somewhere whose use and calculus are beyond lay understanding. Typically, I always reach some point where, given the figures in the table so far, the directions have no place to send me but the table is not yet complete. This usually gives rise to the sort of language lesson that I’m trying hard not to provide to my four year old son.
This year, things are way beyond unclear. The document I’ve just spend the last hour reviewing is utterly opaque. I don’t even know what a “Special Allowance for Rental Real Estate With Active Participation” might be let alone whether or not we might qualify for it and what ball park the amount might be in. The number I’m looking at might be right, might be off by a factor of ten. No clue.
What with moving twice, selling a house, buying a house, renting a house, spending part of the tax year in another country and with sources of income in both countries we elected, and very wisely I think too, to have a foreign tax specialist tackle all this junk for us this year. Given that about 70% of the resulting document requires an advance degree in finance to even comprehend, I think we made the right choice. We’ll have to hope so because I have little alternative than to trust the professionals and mail out the returns tomorrow.
Filed under Life in London and Taxes.
Posted by eric at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2006
Darkening McD's Door
Until this day I had not availed myself of the goods and services of a single McDonalds, Burger King, KFC or any other purveyor of American style fast food in the UK. All good things must come to an end and so to did this extraordinary, for myself at least, run of culinary virtue. On our way out to view some properties we elected to stop at McD’s for breakfast because, well it’s fast.
Problem, no sausage due to an equipment failure. (Bacon yes, sausage no. What equipment failed I wonder? Are you just out of sausage? Then say so! This seems like a shutdown of the underground due to drivers walking out being explained as a signaling failure but I digress.) This left both me and my son a bit out of sorts as nearly every McD’s breakfast we’re willing to consider involves sausage. So, it’s bacon, egg and cheese muffins all ‘round with a hearty mound of hash browns on the side.
The view at least was good. We had virtually the entire first floor with its windows overlooking the Richmond high street all to ourselves. Not a bad people watching spot.
Filed under Life in London, Dining, Fast Food and McDonalds.
Posted by eric at 10:47 PM | Comments (0)
Surrey Back on Track
From the BBC: “ Woeful Middlesex lose yet again”
A group ducked out of the office at about quarter to 5:00 Friday evening and dashed to The Oval. (Not too worried about getting called out on leaving early. I’ve been late enough often enough and besides, the leader of our group was the office director.) It was an ideal evening for a game; balmy temperatures but not hot, a mix of cloud and late afternoon sun, just enough breeze.
The game was kinder to Surrey than that of the 4th had been. Middx. went in first an established a target not much more daunting than the 106 Surrey set earlier this week. The wickets fell fast and the batting was just not there. Surreys’ fielding was spot on.
Surreys’ innings started off badly for Middx. with some twenty runs being collected from just the first two overs. The pace settled down a bit after that but the Middlesex squad looked uncomfortable and confused. On several occasions the bowler broke off a run up while some late fielding changes were made. A number of quite ordinary balls were allowed to go to the boundary because of confusion in the field.
Just as Middx. seemed to be getting a measure of control, the bottom fell out with James Benning slamming three and a row into the bleachers at the Vauxhall end. The end was quick with the last six runs required coming at the start of the 13th over with yet another shot from Benning.
The after match entertainment included two, perhaps slightly squiffed, fans running across the pitch. Both were firmly collared by the stewards and I imagine then spent a bit of time providing some details to the police. While the first managed to collect one stump, which was no doubt immediately taken off him, the other was tackled empty handed. Not sure if the thrill value exceeds whatever hassle then ensued for these two.
Filed under Life in London, Sport, Cricket, Twenty20, Surrey, Middlesex, The Oval.
Posted by eric at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2006
Surrey Come Up Short
Surrey have an up-hill challenge in Twenty20 - Surrey Cricket - News - Surreycricket.com A couple of colleagues and I took in the second half of the Surrey v. Sussex Twenty20 match last evening. We escaped from a company function on the broiling hot 2nd (that would be 3rd for Americans) floor of a Trafalgar Square restaurant about 19:00 and made it to The Oval just four overs into the second innings.
Surrey had set a fairly meager target of 104 but it soon seemed that the Sussex’ pace wouldn’t be adequate to meet even that. Before long they were five wickets down with fifty more required. It looked like an all but certain, and much needed, Surrey victory&helip; until Michael Yardy stepped in to bat.
After a cautious start, he settled in to pounding the ball all around the field, with particular and rewarding attention to the area toward the left of the old pavilion. After he bagged his half century, bringing Carl Hopkinson along for a partnership total of 81, it was all over. And so, if they don’t pull up their socks, are Surreys’ chances.
Filed under Life in London, Sport, Cricket, Twenty20, Surrey, Sussex, The Oval.
Posted by eric at 08:30 AM
February 17, 2006
When Fast Isn't Fast Enough
It should be mentioned that a kettle is no longer a bulbous sort of pot you fill with water, put on the stove and wait for it to whistle. Such things are part of the dim and distant past now. No, when the word ‘kettle’ is used nowadays, it refers to a plastic carafe with an electric heating element. Fill with a quart or so of water, plug it in and press the button and in a surprisingly short time you’ve got a pot full of boiling hot water. Every now and again, having all 240 of those volts comes in handy. I haven’t checked just how many watts one of these things pulls but it must be substantial.
Still, apparently there are those than can’t wait even the little over a minute it takes to boil a couple of cups of tea’s worth of water in one of these devices. For them we have the the ReadyWhenUR. While you're dashing up the stairs to your flat or office, you can send your kettle a text message and it will start heating the water which will presumably be at a rolling boil when you get there (hope you remembered to fill it up).
Filed under Life in London, Appliances and Tea Kettles.
Posted by eric at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2006
The Trains’ Mysterious Utterances
My typical route to work runs from Richmond to Waterloo via South West Trains. I must say that on average, they do a commendably reliable job of getting me to across town with minimal schedule jitter. That said, I’ve encountered one oddity on their trains of late. For the last few months, ever since the winter time table revisions I think, the semi-fast trains appear to be suffering some mild version of tourettes syndrome. A little ways north-east of the Putney stop, the automatic announcement system quacks “One!” or perhaps it’s “Wan!”. Then silence until it’s time to announce the approach to Vauxhall.
My only guess is that it’s some vestigial announcement for the Wandsworth Town stop that hasn’t yet been completely erradicated from the system. Who knows. What’s interesting to watch is how all of the passengers pointedly take no notice of the PA blip.
Today looks like a fine day to be in London. I can’t remember the last day that dawned so brightly. Whatever foul weather moved through last night is long gone. The skies are clear and the sun is bright.
Filed under Life in London, Trains, and South West Trains.
Posted by eric at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2006
Prostitution Law Kerfuffle: Media take opportunity to print lots of pictures of leggy hookers
A recent policy shift by the administration here has resulted in a lot of “news” about changes to how laws on prostitution will be enforced. One example of the form can be found at the Manchester Evening News: Kerb crawlers face crackdown. Not quite sure if the associated “art” is really helping to advance the readers’ understanding of the story.
Filed under Life in London, Prostitution.
Posted by eric at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2005
Well, It Looks Like I've Come to the Right Place
The BBC reports that Tea ‘reduces ovarian cancer risk’. Though I’d been no great fan of tea prior to my arrival in London, I’ve since picked up the habbit and routinely take in a couple of cups in the late afternoon. Nice to know it might be doing me some good. Might be doing me a bit more good, I suppose, if I had any ovaries.
As an aside, I’ve often wondered why perfectly worthy beverages such as coffee, tea, wine and beer are so persistently subject to accusations that they’re in some way toxic, carcinogenic, or in some other physical or moral way bad for us. It seems that anytime anybody does a controlled study it turns out that moderate consumption of any of these substances is quite good for one. I suppose that it’s yet another case of things that give us pleasure not being allowed to also be good for us.
Filed under Life in London, Tea.
Posted by eric at 07:48 AM
November 25, 2005
Silence in the Midst of Millions
This morning presented a rare, unexpected interval of quiet. Due to a Silverlink train having to be turned at Gunnersbury, the District Line train came to a stop on the bridge over the Thames. As the train came to a standstill, all was suddenly quiet in the crowded train. Nobody chattered about the party last night. No cell ‘phone rang. Not a cough or a sniffle or even the flip of a newspaper page broke the quiet. Five minutes or so we all sat quiet thinking our thoughts in a packed tube train in the midst of London. From outside came the sounds of wind in the weeds and the lapping of the river against the bridge.
At last, the train lurched forward but it wasn’t a signal for the church like atmosphere to change. It wasn’t until around Earls Court that things began to revert to normal and the chatter and noise resumed.
Filed under Life in London and The London Underground.
Posted by eric at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2005
Our First Expat Thanksgiving
We had tentative plans to travel back to the states in time for Thanksgiving but, given that I’d just have to turn around and do it all again in another week’s time, it started to seem like too much hassle. So, here we are in our London flat for that most American of holidays.
The spouse has found a pre-stuffed roaster, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and rolls between Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. (M&S had stuffed turkey breasts but at £22 which comes a bit steep.) I’ve brought home some claret so we’re all set. The offspring has passed out and so won’t be sharing our feast I’m afraid.
Filed under Life in London, Thanksgiving.
Posted by eric at 07:50 PM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2005
Turns Out Tea's Not So Bad
I’ve always disliked tea; too bitter, too watery at the same time, nasty aftertaste. Of late I’m afraid I’ve been rather taken with the 16:00 habit. The difference in the end product when you add a small amount of sugar and an ounce or two of milk is enormous. Saves a bit on the family budget too. Even a fairly good cup of tea runs about 4p while a trip to Starbucks weighs in at £1.60 and £1.20 more with the muffin thrown in.
Filed under Life in London, Tea.
Posted by eric at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2005
Quest for a Quaff
Have I already purchased and consumed the last bottle of Virginia Gentleman in London? Some weeks back I found a bottle of small batch 90 in Vintage House on Old Compton. Today I could find not a drop. Vintage House has the price card up but no bottle to go with it. Milroy’s has at least heard of the stuff but doesn’t deal with the right distributor. The other two whiskey specialists I tried just gave dumb looks when asked if they traded in this most special of libations.
I know where there’s a shop that sells it, but it’s in Scotland; a bit of a trip just for a bottle of hooch for weekend use. We’ll be up that way before long on some tourist trip or other so perhaps I should lay in a case before we head back south. In the mean time will I be forced to find another brand of sour mash bourbon whiskey aged in charred oak casks? Is there such a thing? Worse times could be spent than haunting local booze shops and talking with the proprietors about such subjects.
Filed under Life in London, Alcohol, Whiskey, Bourbon and Virginia Gentleman.
Posted by eric at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2005
The Te of Steam Engines
If I recall from Benjamin Hoff’s 2nd book &mdash and a rather acid and mean spirited little tome it is too &mdash the Te’ relates to the virtue of the very small. This afternoon, the offspring and I viewed some very virtuous steam engines at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. Some very dedicated hobbyists were showing off their scale, working steam locomotives.
A typical example was about eight to ten inches long and, fed with distilled water and heated electrically, ran on its own steam. This looks like a particularly economical hobby to get in on with a single engine weighing in at a mere £1050. That’s the cheapest I saw.
In an odd juxtaposition, the feature attraction of the Steam Museum itself is a giant beam engine with a 100 inch cylinder. This machine was used to pump some million gallons a day in to the London water supply up until 1944. They had one of two of these giants running while we were there. Quite impressive.
Filed under Life in London, Museums, Steam Power and Model Railroads.
Posted by eric at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2005
Another Good Breakfast Spot
We got started a little late this morning and it was mid morning before we managed to crawl out of the house and make for a breakfast spot. (We might have gotten up more readily had we not spent two or three hours starting around 03:00 this morning being woken up by our toddler dropping by mom & dad’s bed for hugs and snuggles. He was eventually convinced to sleep in his own bed, but it wasn’t easy.)
The weather has turned cold and outdoor seating is no longer so attractive. As most places in Richmond that do breakfast are sidewalk cafés, this cuts the available seat population by about 50% and so made our hunt for a place we could eat a little more difficult. We eventually settled on a place we hadn’t tried yet, Café Azzuro right off the High Street. A fortuitous choice; the food was good, and promptly delivered and the staff quite friendly, particularly toward the offspring who managed to remain charming throughout the meal which is a rarity in itself.
Filed under Life in London and Richmond Restaurants.
Posted by eric at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2005
Another Failed Navigation Attempt
Every time I’ve left the office with the intent to get to Milroy’s on Greek Street, I’ve failed. Most times I’ve just lost my way. Other times I got pulled into some other activity on the way. This time I once again made the mistake of trying to find my way through to Soho without the benefit of my Mini A-Z. So once again I’m back at my desk having not had a chance to visit this reputed temple to whiskey. I did run across a couple of other shops but they were of little help in my attempt to rebuild my stock of Virginia Gentleman.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2005
At Last the London Fog
Since we’ve been over here, the weather has been for the most part sunny and moderate. Very little rain, not much in the way of clouds and I can count on one hand the number of days I’ve had to trudge through drizzle to work. This is not the weather of London legend. This morning though, we awoke to find a grand layer of fog blanketing The Green. It was all very atmospheric.
On the train into town I found that the fog seems to be a largely suburban phenomenon these days. Perhaps it’s the urban heat island around the city center but the fog seems to burn off by around Putney on the way in. On the way back this evening, it was starting to thicken around Wandsworth Town.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:21 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2005
People Are the Mainspring
To quote King Crimson. It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in your own head while walking through the city. It’s a mistake to do so. While you’re lost in an unproductive cycle of irresolvable thoughts, centuries of history and million lives go by without notice. Just raising your gaze a bit is all that it takes to shake your mind out of its rut.
Looking up at the parapets of a Victorian building standing across the street from a pre-fire structure, watching the streaming crowds reflected in the soulless windows of a recent edifice in the neobrutalist style, walking in the flow of commuters heading toward the station; above trains pass busses around which dodge black cabs and over it all, the planes file in toward Heathrow.
Then there’s the people themselves, many of them lost in cell ‘phone conversations, some tense, most banal. The most common first line overheard: “I’m on the train.” Some are looking down as they walk, lost in thought. Most look straight ahead with a determinedly neutral expression and trying to avoid making eye contact with anybody. Groups of boisterous younger people on their way to an evening out provide a dash of color to the otherwise gray human palette that the adults try to paint.
7 million people in this city. It’s a shame to spend too much time in your own head making it essentially a city of one.
Filed under Life in London and London.
Posted by eric at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2005
A More Relaxed Kind of Banking?
Just got this flyer in the mail with my HSBC statement. What do you think the odds are that you’d see this in the US, A bank selling you alcohol? Not bloody likely is it?
There’s an odd relationship between the locals and alcohol. On the one hand, they’re about to implement a law allowing for 24 hour availability of alcoholic beverages (article). On the other, they’re about to launch a crack down on binge drinking. While gin and vodka can be had in the grocery store, denatured or isopropyl can’t be found anywhere. It’s all very strange.
Filed under Life in London, Alcohol, Opening Hours.
Posted by eric at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2005
Weather Weenies?
I noted on the way in this morning — dressed as I was in a shirt and suit coat — that Londoners as a group seem to have very little tolerance for even moderately cool temperatures. No sooner does the temperature slide into the 40’s (F) than scarves and gloves begin to make their appearance; articles of clothing that aren’t seen in the states until the temperatures fall below freezing.
As against that, I’ve noticed that when the rain comes down, those without umbrellas handy will trudge through the downpour stoically ignoring their discomfort. I’ve seen many soaked pedestrians not even deigning to quicken their step while walking through heavy rain. Back home in NC, folks would wait out the storm in doorways and cars before venturing out. Of course, in NC there’s always the probability that rain will stop soon. That’s not always the case here.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2005
German Expressionism in St. Albans?
Fans of the German Expressionism school of the 1920’s will almost certainly remember “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”. For those who’ve seen it, and I recommend it, I think you’ll find that Cesare would be right at home in St. Albans. The Great Fire of London didn’t make it to St. Albans. There was, and still is, too much country side in between for it to be considered a contiguous part of greater London. As a result, there are quite a few more pre 1666 buildings leaning negligently against neighboring structures up here.
Given the fact that in the run of the mill 16th century architect’s T-square wasn’t always very square and that the contemporary builder’s level was as unlikely to be true, the timbers unseasoned and not straight to begin with, some seriously wonky buildings resulted. Add to all that four or five hundred years for things to settle and sag and you end up with structures like the ones pictured here. I think this might be what H. P. Lovecraft was getting at when he described the angles in some rooms as just… wrong.
The upper picture is of the building that houses the restaurant where we ate last night; Michelangelo’s. (Very tasty and not at all expensive by the way — just watch your head on the way out.) The other picture is of a building not far away. It looks like somebody decided to add another story, measured wrong for the new roof and just lopped it off and dropped it on at a jaunty angle.
In fairness, they’re still standing after all this time so you’ve got to give their builders a bit of credit for that.
Filed under Life in London, St. Albans, and Architecture.
Posted by eric at 09:37 PM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2005
Yet Another Adiction
As though I need another way to waste time and as though I came over here for the TV, I’ve gotten hooked on yet another television program, “Foyle’s War” staring Michael Kitchen. Apparently this has aired in the states but I’m afraid I missed it completely. This may be because PBS production has fallen to such a low level that I hardly bother looking at the listings anymore.
Most Americans’ images of Britain are frozen at some time in the past. Some of us dimly imagine that this island is still populated by yeoman farmers and soldiers stumping about in shakos and red coats (well that does still happen but they carry FALs now, not muskets). For others, like us, most of the fiction and documentary we’ve seen about England over the years has centered on WWII. To us, that’s the “real” Britain. So, things here having moved disturbingly forward in time with the rest of the world, “Foyle’s War” provides us with a little escapism to the Britain of our imagination. Besides all that, it’s very well performed.
Now it’s time to go watch.
Filed under Life in London, Entertainment, Television and Foyle’s War.
Posted by eric at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2005
It Gets Late Early This Time of Year
We’ve gone off of summer time (back on Sunday the 30th) and we’re well past the equinox. The sun is now sliding from view before 17:00. I’ve never been a fan of leaving for work in the dark and getting back in the dark but we’re just about to that point. Even if I get up on time, and I most certainly have not the last couple of days, there’d still be some light by the time I head for the train, but probably not for long.
There are compensations. At tea time, when one goes out to one of the many nearby Starbucks for an afternoon pick-me-up, you’re walking through the magic hour with the half light setting the sky aglow and leaving the streets in shadow. Some of the higher spires still catch a bit of light.
Soon however, we’ll be cast into utter darkness until spring. Snow might help alleviate things on occasion but I’m told not to count on it. Perhaps I should invest in some bright lights for my desk.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2005
The Sounds of Many Fireworks on a Saturday Night
It was a fine crisp day today, this 400 anniversary of the thwarting of the attempt to blow up Parliament, the King, his court and anybody else who might be happening by Westminster Palace at the time. As I write, there’s an almost unending stream of fireworks going off all up and down the Thames. From our vantage, a 2nd floor flat on Richmond Green, we can see at least half a dozen shows at once. The offspring is very pleased with that and wants the lights off to optimize is viewing experience. Sadly, I didn’t take the time to get the camera out and so I’ve had to swipe an image from the BBC web site to grace this entry.
He’s had fireworks on his mind quite a lot lately as the most recent issue of Thomas & Friends focuses on bonfire night and he’s been very much taken with it. We must’ve read it to him at least a score of times each day for the past week. I’ve tried to use the illustrations to point out the fact that while we in the US celebrate with fireworks in the middle of summer, the English do so in late fall but it’s up hill work drawing his attention away from the images of rockets and fountains to the mugs of hot soup, hats and scarves.
Filed under Life in London, Bonfire Night, and Thomas & Friends.
Posted by eric at 09:09 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2005
Sure the Sun's Over the Yardarm, Somewhere
We’ve had a fairly steady stream of events to celebrate around the office lately. Seems that hardly a week goes by but we break out several bottles of wine in the board room and festivities commence. The odd thing is the frequency with which these events are followed hard by a video conference with my counterparts back across the Atlantic or by a VTC equipment check. The end result is that nearly every time my US co-workers have seen me lately, I’ve had a glass of wine in my hand. This probably seems a little extra odd to them because it’s usually only 10:00 or 11:00 their time. By now my colleagues are no doubt convinced that I’m never very far from a glass of the grape here. (This is in fact quite inaccurate as I’m much more frequently to be found in close association with a Manhattan — only make it with Burbon, not Rye.)
Filed under Life in London, Alcohol, and Wine.
Posted by eric at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2005
A Wet Walk to the Station
Well, this was not Transport for London’s finest hour. It’s been raining off and on all day and was coming down pretty well when I left the office &mdash at the uncommonly civilized hour of 17:30 for a change. Deciding that my usual stroll across Waterloo Bridge wouldn’t be quite as much fun in the driving rain, I waited for a bus at the Royal Courts of Justice stop. And waited, and waited, and waited. At last a bus, full up I’m afraid. OK, he just let half a dozen people off just before he got to our stop but he’s full up. Another bus; lets another half dozen off, empty seats in back, empty seats up top. None the less, the driver seems to believe he’s full up. Entreaties that he open the door were met with a thunderingly stupid stare as though attempting to board a bus was in itself an astonishing thing.
Well, I’d heard that the bus drivers here were of a different, inscrutable class and that it’s just not worth one’s effort to try and figure out what causes them to do whatever they do (including pulling up at a stop with a half a load of passengers and just going off shift without notice). The trains and tube remain reliable with courteous service so there’s always hope.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2005
Right or Left?
When one’s driving in the UK it’s all very simple, you drive on the left. When walking along the road you walk against traffic on the right, again all very simple. However, when there’s pedestrian traffic in both directions, do you pass each other on the left or the right? That’s where it all breaks down of course. Nobody seems to know. Sometimes traffic on a divided stair goes up the left, sometimes the right. Sometimes the oncoming person shifts to your left side and sometimes to your right. Sometimes you nearly run into each other trying to figure it out.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
October 31, 2005
Haloween in London
Well here it is, All Hallows Eve in England. It’s not nearly the big deal here that it is back in the states. No trick-or-treating, not much in the way of costumes and, thank goodness, no costumes or even orange socks at work. However, we were able to celebrate the occasion by watching a Simpsons Halloween episode marathon on Sky.
At work, we’re all but moved into our new space. The equipment is settling in nicely and I may have a life back within another day or two.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 11:26 PM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2005
I'll Miss M&S
It’s going to be some time before we have to ship back across the pond, but I already know that one thing I’m going to miss is Marks & Spencer. It’s been a terribly busy week and I’ve not had time for very much in the way of a descent meal for days. Tonight is no exception but I wanted to give the spouse a break. It’s a simple, if slightly more expensive, option to pop into M&S on the way home (there’s a food only instance in Waterloo Station) and pickup quite good prepared meals.
Tonight’s menu: Moussaka, stuffed grape leaves, salad with a Chilean Merlot and aged cheddar for desert. Quite good, very little effort and only about £12.
Filed under Life in London and Marks & Spencer.
Posted by eric at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2005
The Empty City
I had to get into the office bright and early this morning. While the traffic was less than what one might find on a weekday morning, it was still heavy enough. There was no shortage of pedestrians about the streets either, even at 08:00 on a Saturday morning. Even so, all of the coffee shops and other sources of breakfast were closed but one. Presumably they figure that the city is empty on the weekend mornings but that just doesn’t seem to be the case.
So, rather than wait in the longish line at the only game in town, or at least the only game in the vicinity of Aldwych and Kings Way, with stomach grumbling I hobbled in to our old office to get ready for the movers… really could have used that cup of coffee though.
As it happened, I rather won in the end as one of the managers helping with the move took us all out for an expensed brunch when things were finally opening up. Saved me a few £s anyway.
Filed under Life in London.
Posted by eric at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2005
Please Don't Feed the Rats
Yes I know, we all grew up with that wretched ear worm “tupence a bag” running through our developing brains. But if you feed pigeons, all you get are more pigeons. And they’re not adorable avian friends, they’re rats with wings. There are now signs everywhere admonishing one and all not to contribute to the little buggers’ food supply.
It’s not working. There seems to be no shortage of these pests. Can they really be thriving this well on the occasional purloined sandwich, the odd small pile of scone crumbs or the leavings on the outdoor tables? Possible, but hard to believe.
The spouse did a little G2 work today and found a clue to the scrofulous little beasts’ sustenance. They have human agents, cunningly disguised as wobbly old dears, who sneak out into the parks with food. And not with little paper bags of bread crumbs; no, these perpetuators of the winged curse tote rolling suitcases full of bird seed which they scatter to the pestilent flocks. I’m not sure what can be done to turn these operatives back to the human side of the cause; perhaps nothing, but it has to be tried.
Filed under Life in London, Pigeons.
Posted by eric at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)